


Dance And You Are Human

by The_idea_master



Category: AtLA - Fandom, Avatar - Fandom, Avatar the Last Airbender - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 19:31:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19362952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_idea_master/pseuds/The_idea_master
Summary: This takes place during the fire nation's temporary take over of an Ember Island party. You may be familiar with the original story, but this one takes some liberties with how the night unfolds. Where the princess is coaxed into a dance, and an acrobat risks opening up about a certain fear of hers. A fear that inevitably comes to fruition later on. But for now, she enjoys her dance, and whether she'll admit it or not-so does Azula.





	Dance And You Are Human

Azula watched from afar as boys from all corners of the room flocked to try and capture Ty Lee’s attention. The poor girl was going to be eaten alive, Azula was sure of it, and if the acrobat wasn’t…well, someone was going to end up hurt. Sure enough, the acrobat snapped. She lashed out in every direction possible until the ring of predators had vanished in a heap upon the floor. How Ty Lee had managed to gain such admiration by doing nothing, Azula didn’t know. Sure, the girl was charming, but certainly those boys had seen others of similar stature. Ty Lee wasn’t the only girl on the planet.   
The princess’ thoughts were interrupted as Ty Lee approached. She wasn’t sure what the acrobat wanted. Protection? Azula couldn’t care less. She was used to people ignoring her for her ‘prettier’ companion, and truthfully, she couldn’t be mad about it. Ty Lee was pretty. There was no sin in admitting that. Still, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious. Curious as to what captured the attention of boys and how in the world it was done. Though it was, perhaps, cruel on her part, Azula let her tongue fly. She didn’t want to hear Ty Lee whine about unwanted attention or being overwhelmed by men. It happened all the time and if the princess was being honest, she’d have thought the acrobat was used to it by now.  
For a second, Azula thought Ty Lee would remain unphased by her remarks, but all too soon the acrobat began to cry. Azula wasn’t sure what exactly she’d said, it was instinct at this point to keep her guard up, but whatever it was she’d been far too harsh. Ty Lee rarely cried. She’d learned to take all the princess had to say with a grain of salt. Especially, if it was spoken in public. When there was no indication that the acrobat would stop, Azula rushed to make amends. The last thing she needed was a scene. When Ty Lee’s tears finally stopped, the princess gave a sigh of relief. But having to do damage control was almost worse. She didn’t want to answer Ty Lee’s questions or admit her own insecurities, but it was unavoidable at this point.   
And, as usual, Ty Lee tried to bolster the princess’ confidence, but it was clear her compliments were falling short. Azula rarely believed the words of others. If she wasn’t the one bolstering her own ego, then anything her friends or family said didn’t matter. To Azula, it was empty flattery. Sighing, the acrobat hesitantly captured the princess’ hands in her own. “You know what? Just forget any of that happened. Poof! Gone.”  
“Things like that just don’t disappear on their own,” Azula frowned. “You remember it. I remember it.”  
“The point is, we pretend we don’t remember it,” Ty Lee smiled faintly. It was times like these that she was reminded how literal Azula was. In fact, the acrobat doubted Ozai had ever joked with her before. It’d certainly explain the lacking sense of humor in the royal family.  
“I suppose that makes more sense,” Azula nodded. “But now what? Are we going to stand here looking like a bunch of fools?”  
“No!” Ty Lee laughed, struggling not to rest her forehead on the princess’ shoulder. Taking a moment to stifle her laughter, Ty Lee gathered her composure once more. “We do what everyone else is doing.”  
“Which is?” Azula arched a brow.  
“We dance or we talk. It’s simple really,” Ty Lee shrugged. She took a moment to survey the room and sure enough nearly everyone was chatting or dancing. If they weren’t, they were resting, getting a drink, or making out in some not so dark corner. Azula studied the room as well, ad ever so slightly relaxed. Ty Lee was right. Dancing seemed like the appropriate thing to do.  
“Well, dancing is a vague term. Is there some form of dancing to follow?”  
“Nope, you dance how you feel. By yourself, with friends, formally, wildly, lazily, or however you want. There’s no rules here. No code to follow. Just the music to listen to and the beat to fell,” Ty Lee assured. She watched as Azula processed the information. In truth, Ty Lee wasn’t sure Azula even knew how to dance. She’d certainly never seen the princess take the dance floor. “Have you uh…have you done this before? Danced, I mean.”  
“No. It’s a waste of time.”  
“We don’t have to if you don’t wa-“  
“No,” Azula interrupted, “we’re going to. I have time to waste so let’s waste it.”   
The acrobat took note of a small fire in the princess’ eyes. Something had made her determined, and though Ty Lee didn’t know what that thing was, she didn’t quite care. “Great. Now, follow my lead. I’ve been to a party or two so I know how this works.”  
“If I’m to trust you,” Azula warned,” you better not ruin this. I have a reputation to uphold whether these idiots recognize me or not.”  
“Understood,” Ty Lee nodded, carefully guiding the princess away from their spot by a pillar. Azula continued to watch the crowd of fire nation citizens with a weary gaze. None of them seemed all that impressive. Surely, she couldn’t dance worse than them. “Now, relax, listen to the music, and follow me. Don’t worry about the rest of the losers here. Most of them have two left feet anyways.”  
Nodding, the princess waited anxiously as Ty Lee listened to the music. When the acrobat had a proper sense of the rhythm, her face brightened, her smile widened, and she eagerly pulled the princess closer. At first, Azula didn’t realize they were dancing. She simply followed along without a second thought, but then it became clear what exactly she was doing. Her feet moved hesitantly across the floor, and part of her was resisting the acrobat’s guiding movements. The last thing she needed was letting someone else take charge only to fail. “Are you sure-.”  
“Lighten up,” TY Lee whispered, “I can do this. If you can trust me to have your back in battle surely this isn’t too big of a deal, right?”  
The acrobat had a point. With a reluctant sigh, Azula agreed to follow Ty Lee once more. She tried hard not to over analyze the situation, but the entire scenario was foreign to her. Fire nation leaders didn’t dance. It wasn’t part of politics, or war, or strategy, and it certainly didn’t win anyone a throne. Azula had read enough to know that not a single ruler had danced their way to a throne. “Is this supposed to be fun?”  
“If you let it,” TY Lee mused. “Or it can be excruciatingly boring if you see it as a chore.”  
“Are you having fun?”  
“Yes, actually, I am, “ Ty Lee grinned.   
“Is it because I look like an idiot?”  
“Of course not! It’s because you’re trying something new and I like it. I almost forget that you have to learn things too. Most stuff seems to come easily to you. It’s nice that I can teach you something for once,” Ty Lee admitted. Azula pondered her friend’s words. She guessed Ty Lee was right. Though she didn’t quite remember it, there had to be a time in her life where she wasn’t perfect. A time when she’d had to learn like anyone else.   
“Go slow. Until I’m comfortable.” Though Azula’s words came as a statement, the context was that of a question. Slowing the pace, Ty Lee whispered small hints to the princess who was struggling to familiarize herself with the dance. Slowly but surely, she began to grasp the correlation of movement with rhythm. One was part of the other. If separated, things fell apart. When together, everything flowed like a river. Once this concept had clicked, Azula found herself invested with the task at hand. Soon, she was matching Ty Lee’s original speed with ease. All the while, the acrobat grinned and offered tiny words of praise.   
At first, Azula didn’t notice the by standers watching them. She was too busy trying to perfect what she could for the time being, but when dancing became second nature, she felt like some odd specimen being examined.   
“Don’t worry about them,” Ty Lee sighed. “They’ll watch anything they can because they’re bored. Everyone’s used to the unexcited shuffle of young lovers dancing at a party. The fact that we’re not staying in one place is something new for them.”  
“Someone is feeling quite bitter,” Azula smirked.  
“I take certain things seriously. One of those things is partying. This whole thing is just sad and pathetic,” Ty Lee huffed. “I’d have left ages ago if it weren’t for you wanting to be here.”  
“You stayed for me?” Azula frowned. “Why?”  
“I couldn’t leave you alone, now could I?” Ty Lee asked. “You never would’ve left that pillar behind.”  
“You underestimate me,” Azula mused.  
“No, I know you.”  
“Perhaps,” Azula shrugged.   
Though none of the onlooker s could hear what was being said, they didn’t particularly care. The dancing itself wasn’t complicated or eccentric, but it was done in such a gentle, elegant, and graceful way that they couldn’t help watching. Most kids spent their whole lives trying to develop an ounce of grace that was in such abundance before them. Most felt silly for bothering to dance at all. Some were glad they hadn’t even tried to begin with. To them, whoever those two girls were, deserved the entire floor for themselves. Anyone who stepped on it was a disgrace.   
“They look like a bunch of stupid, gaping fish,” Azula snorted, barely sparing the crowd a glance.   
“Well, you are hard not to stare at when you choose to let your guard down,” Ty Lee mumbled. She hadn’t thought Azula heard until she saw the look of mild amusement on the princess’ face.  
“What was that?”  
“Nothing.”  
“No say it again,” Azula smirked.  
“You’re hard not to stare at when you let your guard down,” the acrobat repeated.  
“Why is that?”   
“Because you’re you. Not a general, or a prodigy, or an heir. You’re just Azula. I like that. It makes you feel more human,” Ty Lee admitted. She waited for the harsh reply, but when it didn’t come, she was met by a surprisingly soft gaze.  
“I am human. I’ve always been human,” Azula promised.  
“Well, sometimes I think other people forget that about you,” Ty Lee worried. Their dancing came to an abrupt end.   
“Do you?”  
“No,” Ty Lee shook her head, “and I worry there may come a time when I do something…something not quite forgivable because I can’t let you lose that part of yourself no matter how much everyone else wants you to.”  
“Well, whoever you harm when that time comes will simply have to deal with your decision. I won’t do anything to stop or punish you,” Azula shrugged. “The soldier, or whomever, complains of the infraction will be met with a shrug.”  
“A shrug?” Ty Lee snickered.  
“Mm,” Azula nodded. “Promise.”  
“Okay, you big softie,” the acrobat’s voice had gone impossibly quiet. Azula watched the other girl for a moment and didn’t register the lips pressed lightly against her own until the acrobat gave a soft laugh. When it all clicked, Azula, albeit entirely unsure, leaned into the touch. She’d never kissed anyone before, but she supposed it made sense that her first kiss was with the person she first danced with. Though the room remained quiet, Ty Lee was certain she could hear Mai.  
“I told you,” Mai rasped, looking smugly at Zuko. The prince grudgingly dug around in his pocket for the small sum of money he kept on hand and passed it over. He’d been certain that Mai was wrong. Azula didn’t like people. She’d never kiss anyone even if her life depended on it, but there she was…kissing the acrobat.


End file.
